The present invention relates, in general, to refrigeration compressors. This invention relates in particular to a command and/or control and/or protection unit for a refrigeration compressor.
1. Field of Invention
Compressors currently in use have a terminal box for electrical connection containing a small number of components providing command, control, and protection functions. In current applications, although the acquisition and regulation devices are near the compressor, the command, control, and protection part is centralized, for several compressors, in one unit in the refrigerating machine or facility. It is then necessary to have a complex processor that controls all the inputs and outputs for the compressors. As a result, these complex processors and the cabinets containing them are specific to each compressor configuration on these machines. This causes high costs because these components are non-standard and require configuration and installation at the actual assembly site of the refrigerating machine or facility. This equipment is complex, difficult to test, and has defects that appear only after assembly, which can lead to low quality or defects at the customer's facility. Moreover, in the centralized equipment currently in use, these various command, control, and protection components used for compressors are dimensioned taking into account the operational environment. In particular, the high temperature in the cabinet due to the heat dissipation of these components and those used in other functions of the machine.
2. Related Art
A new approach consists of standardizing and optimizing the command, control, and protection functions and placing the components supporting these functions close to or in the compressor. Hence, the processor becomes standard as far as the compressor functions are concerned, using a bus link. The compressor and its cabinet become a simple, standard unit from the manufacturer which is tested well before final installation. The risks of defects after assembly of the refrigeration system are thus limited.
When the electrical components responsible for command, control, and protection are brought as close as possible to the compressor, they must be placed under favorable conditions, in terms of:                Heat exchange, allowing for smaller and hence cheaper electrical and electronic components which however require significant cooling;        Vibration level; and        Tightness.        